Apart from the actual processing devices, transport drives are very important assemblies of cable processing systems, for example of automatic cable stripping machines. Their job is to transport the cable, position it in an axially precise manner for processing, also if necessary exert a force on the cable during processing, as well as grip and catch the cable after processing and transport it away from the area of the processing system. The first two tasks, specifically transport and positioning, may be handled by rollers or belts with enough resolution. The third job of transferring force requires that the motors and transmissions be correspondingly configured, as well as that suitable materials and surfaces be selected for the roller and belt material.
Finally, the last task of guiding is resolved in most configurations of machines or systems for processing wire- or strand-shaped products with a guide at the outlet of the processing device, which guide guides the cable into the following drive with rollers or belts (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 3). This yields a shortest possible cable length (length L, FIG. 1), since the cable with its insulation must be situated between the rollers or belts before it is cut, for example, and so that it can then be transported further. If an outlet is also provided for the cable at the second cable end, the minimal cable length then again becomes longer at the second cable end by this outlet length. The shortest cable length is thus the sum of the distance between the boundary of the processing axis of the processing device and the axis of the roller, or between the guide roller of the belt drive facing the processing device and the stripping lengths of both the two cable ends.
However, there are applications that in practice require much shorter cable lengths. To this end, it was proposed that the outlet side guide be omitted, and smaller rollers be placed in this location. These smaller rollers are operated together with the larger rollers, wherein the rollers jointly preferably carry a toothed belt or the like (see FIG. 2). The shortest possible cable length is derived from the same conditions as explained above, wherein the closer position of the smaller rollers to the processing device and the smaller roller diameters per se enable a significant shortening of the minimum cable lengths. Kits (so-called short-mode kits) are used for such short cable lengths to upgrade conventional drives.
However, the respectively prescribed drive concept—rollers or belts—must be retained for each individual processing device for wire- or strand-shaped products, and cannot be altered. Only using the short-mode kit offers an adjustment option, specifically to operation with or without the latter.